Aborting DPL Dreams: When the Best Offense is Defense

I'm starting to think that this little Bro, aggressively advertised on TV, is not so smart after all. I find it difficult to connect to the net with it unless I go out of the house. I know it was made for mobility but does that mean I have to be outdoors all the time? Plus, if I want to check my load balance, I have to be connected. So if I can't connect, how do I know if it's because I don't have any load anymore or the connection is just lousy? I don't know. Maybe there's just no techie gene in me or something.

I wish the MVP of business would push thru with "Data over Power Lines (DPL)". During the time a power distribution company was being fought over by two of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines, the grapevine was infested by rumors that the hidden value in the utility company was the potential of its power lines not simply to distribute electricity but transmit data as well!

Goodbye DSL, welcome DPL! (Some use the acronym BPL or Broadband over Power Lines). With DPL technology, we don't need to spend for the installation of fiber-optic cable networks. That's because we already have the power grid right around us. All you have to do is plug in your computer (or that gadget with the Wi-Fi antenna) to an electric socket and voila! You're connected to the Internet! How does that work? As I said, I'm no techie so here's a short explanation from Denis Du Bois of Energy Priorities Magazine*:

"Here's how it works: The utility connects the internet to its electric distribution lines by installing power line adaptors at centralized locations. These adaptors receive internet data and translate it to special frequencies that can be combined with electricity and transmitted over the distribution lines. The endpoint modems separate the data from the electricity, sending the data to an Ethernet port."

Imagine how cheap and convenient it would be for all Pinoys to get connected to the internet if it is available 'til the farthest reaches of electric power lines. There would be no need for costly and controversial "broadband deals" since the government already has an ongoing electrification program where (allegedly) 98% of all barangays already have electricity. Imagine the capital and resources that could be saved by avoiding the duplication of networks when we combine the country's power grids with the its broadband networks. Imagine how rich (or richer, rather) the MVPs of business could be if they could successfully push thru with DPL.

I wish it pushes thru and succeeds so I could relish the pleasure of making a three-point-shot to the dustbin with this not-so-smart little Bro. But wait a minute. Aren't the owners of this little Bro the same ones who acquired the power distribution company? What if the MVP's game plan is to play defense? Then goodbye DPL dreams... Maybe this little Bro is smart after all.

*See:
http://energypriorities.com/entries/2004/12/broadband_over_1.php